James Wilson's Hearts future in focus as interested clubs circle for the Scotland internationalist
Scotland internationalist needs regular SPFL football
Becoming Scotland’s youngest ever senior international footballer in March this year was a career highlight for James Wilson at the tender age of 18. His club, Hearts, gave him first-team exposure from 16 and he repaid the faith as one of their finest youth academy graduates. Eight months since that Hampden Park debut against Greece, there is a frustration he hasn’t progressed as planned and that game time now seems restricted at Tynecastle Park.
Wilson has not made the substitutes bench for any of Hearts’ last four matches. He has started one Premiership game this season - against Motherwell on 23 August - and was replaced at half-time with his team 3-0 down. He hasn’t been on the pitch for his club since. Even a hat-trick for Scotland Under-21s against Gibraltar last month didn’t bring the reward of minutes in maroon. He is a frustrated figure, eager to participate as Hearts lead the Scottish Premiership table, especially after 33 appearances and six goals last term.
This isn’t a case of Wilson not being rated by Derek McInnes, the head coach who joined Hearts from Kilmarnock in May. McInnes has repeatedly stated how much he likes the teenager and sees potential in him. Nor is it an issue of the player not applying himself properly. He is too smart a young man to cut any corners in his chosen profession. The problem is that, with 11 new signings and a first-team squad of 30 players, it is impossible to keep every player happy. Wilson is suffering more than some others.
Hearts’ partnership with the sports data recruitment firm Jamestown Analytics has unearthed genuine gems this year. Claudio Braga was identified in the second division in Norway, Alexandros Kyziridis in Slovakia and Landry Kabore in Estonia. The new model influenced by investor Tony Bloom is to sign players for moderate fees, develop them and then sell at peak value. Homegrown talent will not be overlooked, but Wilson finds himself competing with so many experienced forwards.
Captain Lawrence Shankland is the Premiership’s top scorer so far this season, Braga is only one goal behind him, and Kabore scored twice on his second Tynecastle appearance against Dundee last weekend. Elton Kabangu is fourth in line, leaving Wilson as fifth-choice striker for now. It is not a situation he will want to continue long-term for the sake of his own career development.
Other clubs have noticed his inactivity. St Johnstone would happily take him on loan as part of their co-operation agreement with Hearts. Defender Adam Forrester is already in Perth and Wilson would play regularly in a team challenging for promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt. A co-operation loan offers flexibility, with players able to move freely between two clubs during and outwith transfer windows.
Hearts, though, are reluctant to let Wilson leave right now. They believe he has the ability to play in their side, which he definitely does. They handed him a new contract in April this year, which runs until 2027. A move to St Johnstone would prevent him playing for any other club this season - other than Saints and Hearts - as players cannot take the field for more than two clubs in one campaign under FIFA rules. The problem is getting enough opportunities and enough game time to justify hanging around in Edinburgh indefinitely.
St Johnstone are not the only club monitoring the youngster and others will come forward if the January transfer window arrives without a solution to Wilson’s situation. The longer he is out of favour at Hearts, the more clubs will circle hoping to tempt a prodigious youngster away with the promise of regular games. Hearts know he is admired outwith Riccarton and desperate to play more first-team football.
Speaking after that international hat-trick a few weeks ago, Wilson talked of of “sending a message back”. “Every player wants to play as many minutes as they can,” he said. “[Hearts are] flying, we're doing really well. The guys that are playing are doing really well, so it's my job to train really well, do as well as I can and then wait for the opportunity. There's always that bit about when you go away, you're not in and around the group, so you still want to go and do well and send a message back that I'm still doing well. Hopefully I've done that.
“I recognise that as a team we're doing really well and we've picked up a lot of points, we're scoring loads of goals. And the guys in the forward lines have done really well. I have to be patient and wait for that opportunity. He [McInnes] knows I want to play and it's really tough for him. We've got a really big squad and he'll have people knocking on the door, but I have to appreciate that the guys that are in the role are doing really well.
“Sadly, there's not much merit if I go to the gaffer, 'why am I not playing?' and he goes, 'well, look at the guys that are playing really well.' It's a tough decision for him and I just have to keep doing what I can do to try and put my name in there.”
The next few weeks will be telling for the teenager as he tries to impose himself and regain a position in Hearts’ matchday squads. His game carries so much promise and he is keen to fulfil it all if given the opportunity. If not, January will be a big month as he weighs up his short-term future and whether a loan might be beneficial.
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